Rise And Rise Again Until Lambs Become Lions
by Miss Meggie
Summary: ***Sequel to The Mister Mom Job*** Someone with a vendetta to make even takes Katie Beth the crew will stop at nothing to get her back!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Ok Ladies and Gents here is the sequel...hope you like the start! I stole my title from the new robinhood movie but I think you'll agree it fits! Thanks to my beta Fluer! ~Meg**

* * *

Eliot woke slowly, the scent of Parker's shampoo in his nose and her arm around his waist. He unwrapped himself from her and went to wake up Katie Beth. He walked down the hall happily singing to her.

"Rise and shine and give god the glory, Glory! Rise and shine and give god the glory, Glory! Children of the-" he flipped on her lights to find her bed empty.

"Katie!" He peered under her bed, thinking she must be playing. She wasn't in the room, the living room or the bathroom. He felt the panic begin to rise as he rounded into the kitchen to check her hiding spot under the sink.

"Katherine Elizabeth Spencer this is no longer funny! Come out right now!" Parker stood stock still behind him, wearing an old t-shirt of his. She pointed to the huge wooden chopping block in the middle of his kitchen a meat clever was embedded in the center holding down a note on a single sheet of paper written in Russian.

_I have something that belongs to you. You want her back…it's you for the kid, Spencer. I'll be in touch- the Butcher of Kiev._

"Oh god…Parker…I…they." His knees went weak and he folded to the floor.

"Eliot I'm going to get the others." And she left, running down the hall to Nate's apartment. Parker's first instinct would have been just to pick the locks but she was flustered and scared, so she knocked. The knocking turned into pounding as Nate opened the door sleepily.

"What? For crying out loud what?"

"The Butcher of Kiev took Katie and is holding her hostage in return for Eliot…. And Eliot, he's all catatonic… on floor…"

Sophie appeared behind Nate and Parker crumbled. "Someone took the baby ninja."

She did something she hadn't done since the Dalton Rand Job. She cried. Sophie stepped forward, hugging her.

"We will find her. We will…" she said. "Oh no you don't Nate… the emotional wall stays down you hear me and no drinking either go wake Hardison see what we picked on the CCTV."

She led Parker back down the hall when Hardison appeared on the landing. He took in her appearance seeing her in Eliot's well worn blue t-shirt and nothing else.

"Not exactly how I wanted him to find out about us." Parker thought fleetingly as she reentered Eliot's place.

---//---

They found him sitting on her bed, clutching a worn and slightly dirty Glo-worm toy.

"Eliot…" Sophie said tentatively.

"She was born early did you know that not by much but enough to need the NICU. The lights are always on in there and it's noisy so when I brought her home she was afraid of the dark," his voice cracked

"So I got her this…the first thing I ever bought her. She stills sleeps with it because even though she says she's says she's not she's still a little afraid…" He looked at the Sophie and Parker, valiantly trying not to cry.

"She's not wearing any shoes and is in her Little Mermaid nightgown so she's cold, and probably hungry and definitely scared…and it's my fault... if I were just a normal dad.... I don't know what to do."

"I vote get angry. You know how to use that." Parker said.

"I do that I'll kill someone maybe more than one someone."

"We'll find her. I point you in the right direction then get out of your way. Deal? Get dressed and go to Nate's." Sophie commanded softly.

---//---

"Ok so baby ninja is sleeping then the power goes out and the generators never kick in so it was quick and when it all comes back on line she's gone and none of our alarms or anything were tripped, so he had help. I say a woman did the initial snatching because they went through the air vent and that butcher dude is too big," Hardison said.

"Mikel Dayan is the best female retrieval specialist around and we ended on a bad note." Eliot said quietly and plainly.

"Wait, you think that the pretty handcuff girl stole your baby," Hardison clarified.

"Probably most likely yes."

"Makes sense it's smart, too smart… someone's helping them." Nate added. Just then a window popped up on Hardison computer. "Click here!" it said.

"Click click click damn it Hardison."

"I'm clicking," muttered Hardison. A grainy black and white image came on.

"Daddy! Daddy! Somebody help me!" Her terrified crying screams tore at Eliot's heart

"I'm coming, baby."

"Why is that baby sitting in a padded cell?" Sophie asked

"And what the hell is with the time ticking down seventy two hours?" Hardison added

"Oh god, oh god no," Parker said ominously. "Guys, there are no vents in that room it's air tight."

"What are you saying, Parker?" Eliot barked.

"I'm saying that if we don't find her in time they'll let her suffocate to death…and its not a padded cell those are pressure sensitive tiles which means I can't get to her without alerting them."

Eliot made a sound, half agonizing scream half terrified sob, that reminded Nate of when Sam was dying. It broke Nate's heart as he watched Eliot turn and rip the heavy wood door off its hinges before stalking away.

"Go after him. Don't let him do anything stupid." He commanded of Parker.

"I'm trying to track the feed but its pinging off a million different servers it could take me days to undo the pattern." Hardison told them. "When she gets back I'm putting trackers in her teeth!" he added.

---//---

Parker knew where to find him, staring at his punching bag in the basement, crying. "I'm too angry to even hit anything. I've killed her, Parker."

"No, you haven't. We'll find her and we'll do it in time too."

"Will we? Boston's a big fucking city Parker."

"Yes, but I need you to stop thinking like a father and think like a thief. We have to steal her back."

"We could hear her!" Eliot said.

"Ok so.... that means there's a PA system. If Hardison can hack into it, maybe we can talk to her ,see if she remembers anything…If the room's airtight and pressuresensitive smart money, says it's sound proof. They'll never hear us from the outside," said Parker, a challenging smile creeping onto her face as she felt her brain instinctively working out all the angles.

Eliot took her hand. "Come on, let's go. Time is air."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I own nothing but Katie...Thanks to my Beta Fluer P.J. I tried to incorporate your suggestions, hope you all like it please review!**

* * *

They ran back into Nate's apartment. "Can you override their PA system and use it as a com?" Eliot barked toward Hardison. Hardison looked up into Eliot's eyes. The man was holding on to anything even resembling hope.

"Why didn't I think of that? Hang on," replied Hardison, clicking and typing. "It's all outdated so it was easy as pie… Baby Ninja, can you hear me?"

"Hardison Where are you? Where's Daddy? I want Daddy." She started to cry.

Eliot squatted next to Hardison in front of the laptop. "I'm here baby…"

"Come get me," she wailed and was a starting to hyperventilate. Next would come vomiting if Eliot didn't get her calmed down.

"I'm trying …Katie Beth. I need you to stop crying and breathe normally ok?"

"I'm scared Daddy." She looked up trying to find where his voice was coming from.

He swallowed thickly. "I know you are, baby, but I'm going to find you and it'll all gonna be ok. Do you remember anything?"

"The lady made me sleepy but I woke up for a minute. The van they put me in was green with yellow writing. The word started with a Z."

"What color green, Katie?" Nate asked.

"Like a skittle…"

"Zandy's Flowers just went under. Tt was a Boston chain. IYS was the insurance company," said Nate.

"Sterling! I'll kill him." Eliot swore.

"But why? I'm lost." Parker's face scrunched in thought.

"Because, assuming he watches us, he'd know Katie is our lynch pin. He finagles it so that we'll rescue her and have us all trapped in one place. The Butcher and his sick little countdown is just icing."

"Fuck." Sophie swore ripely, which was unlike her. They heard a door open and looked up too see Mikal bringing Katie food.

"Here you go, Katie." She looked at the food obviously hungry as Mikal walked away closing the door. Eliot wanted to tell her not to eat it.

"They went to all that trouble with the airtight room, Eliot, they aren't going to bother poising her," Nate said, deadly calm.

"Go ahead, baby, it's ok, eat." Eliot told her. It was odd what Mikal had brought her a hamburger, fries, apple juice, and a pudding cup. It was almost as though she felt guilty and put actual thought into the meal. Katie picked up the hamburger and began to eat.

Eliot paced endlessly behind Hardison as he tried to untangle the path to Katie via technology. Parker sat silently curled on the end of the couch. Sophie and Nate sat whispering quietly.

"All of you are making me nervous, go do something. I've got my eyes on Katie and she fell asleep like twenty minutes ago. I'm trying to track the web feed and locate the Zandy's vans. Let me do my thing here guys, trust me with her please. She wakes up or I get something worth telling you happens, I will. Take your comms and go for a walk or something."

"I'll go walk Ruffian for Katie," Parker said in reference to Katie's puggle puppy Eliot had given her for her fifth birthday.

"I'll go get some ice cream from PJ Licks to celebrate when we get her back," Sophie said, putting on a bright face for Eliot.

"I'll be back," was all Nate said.

Eliot just stood there, rooted in place.

"Man, you can't do anything until I find her. I get that you want to just stand here and watch because it's a link to her but she's ok for now and a breather would do you some good," said Hardison.

Eliot turned and left silently.

Hardison exhaled. "Find the baby. Find the baby. I can do it. Nana, I know I said I'd never involve you or God in my work, but if you're up there listening, please help me."

---//---

Parker stood stiffly on the side walk arms crossed as she waited for the puppy to stop sniffing around and relieve himself. She looked up into the overcast clouds that matched her mood. She could practically smell the rain as it prepared to fall.

Parker had learned early on to trust no one and never ever fall in love with anyone and she had with them both.

Katie had given her something else to be besides the socially inept thieving mess that she was. Katie filled the bottomless holes in her heart that all the money, diamonds and adrenaline in the world couldn't touch.

And she loved Eliot too. She wasn't sure when it had happened and she could never tell him, but it happened still. It hit her with a resounding sense of peace one day when she was rambling some nonsense about something that she couldn't recall now, but in the moment she realized he'd stopped looking at her like she needed to medicate her crazy away and was just looking at her like she was Parker. Complete and real if not just a little messed up. In that second she loved him .

This would break him. Devastate him in ways she couldn't fix. This would obliterate them all if they couldn't find her. It made her scared. It all made her long for escape. She wanted to flee, but she would stay because loving them required it. Loving Katie made it impossible not to see this through.

"Come on Ruffian…you done yet?" he yipped as if to say where's the girl that owns me. He ran around Parker's feet. "We'll find her Ruff. Now pee already."

---//---

Eliot walked into the Agape Baptist Church and sat in a pew near the middle. He brought Katie every Sunday since he'd decided to keep her again. He wasn't even sure why he was here. He believed in God, but he also believed God had stopped listening to his prayers long ago. When he'd begged his drunk father to stop beating them, all the prayers were never answered. So he'd stopped praying, but now he had to try even if all he was doing was pissing in the wind.

---//---

Nate wanted to drink. Nate needed to drink… he had erected this wall around his heart to keep everyone out, but the thing was the team, Sophie, Katie they had all broken down his wall. He wanted to put it back up. He wanted to do more than just stare at the shot of bourbon sitting in front of him on the bar. He paid for the shot and went to find Eliot.

He found Eliot's truck parked in front of the Agape Baptist church and walked in to find Eliot sitting hunched forward, his forehead nearly touching the pew in front of him. He wore a faded army t-shirt and pajama bottoms with little devils on them. No shoes or socks on his feet. The happy hues of light splashed on the walls and Eliot from the stained glass windows marred the stark quiet and holiness of the moment. He walked over and sat down next to Eliot and touched his shoulder. He remembered being in those moments. Eliot looked over at his touch

"Do you think God listens to the prayers of those who curse him Nate?"

"I do."

"I didn't ask for Katie but that's only because I didn't know how too. I woke up this morning singing his praises to her until I found her gone and I cursed him. I cursed him because I've gotten careless, relaxed, and she paid. I cursed him because I never intended to love someone this much. I can't lose her I can't!" He laughed sadly "All I keep thinking is if something happens to her, my mother will kill me."

"And Sophie…" Nate added with a sad smile.

---//---

Sophie smiled at the young girl with braces minding the counter as she handed over the notes for Katie's ice cream. She told herself to act as though this were a con and not the kidnapping of someone she now considered to be her child.

Carrying her purchases outside, she sat on a park bench. Sophie came from a well-to-do family with parents who ignored her. The only reason she was a good actress when she was lying was because fear and adrenaline motivated it. It started simply enough, lying for one of her snooty friends who'd stolen make up at Harrod's, and it had taken off from there.

She'd taken on mothering Katie, righting her own mother's wrongs and now she felt fear unlike anything else. They were going to have to pull a con to get that baby back. She could feel it. Worst of all she couldn't use the fear because Sterling knew her. She pulled out her phone dialed and listened to it ring.

"Tara, I may need your help."

---//---

Katie woke up. "Hey is somebody there? I have too pee."

"I'm here Baby Ninja. Jump up and down that'll send Miss Dayan runnin'."

She did and sure enough there was Mikal.

"I have to pee. You're pretty even though you stole me."

"Ok just hurry before de crazy asshole comes back."

"Asshole is a bad word." She led Katie down the hall.

A few minutes later she came back.

"Hardison there was a window in the potty room I saw a big sign with that cartoon 'surance lady with the pink hair that Uncle Nate says is smart 'vertising." Katie whispered

"Thank you baby ninja! You're a smart little thing, you know that Katie!" he started typing fast. "Thank you, God! Thank you Nana! I found her guys ! I found her! Now we just need to steal her back. Get your asses back here!"


	3. Chapter 3

They all returned to the house faster than Hardison thought humanly possible.

"Ok where is she…let's go get her. Sterling and the Butcher are mine do whatever you like with Mikal, girls…" Eliot stood tensely behind Hardison.

"Slow your roll there, cowboy. We have to formulate a plan," Hardison said taking a swig of his soda. Parker bounced nervously next to Eliot.

"Just tell me what to do and I'll do it," said Parker.

Eliot placed a hand on the small of her back. "Let's start with being still. Parker."

"Ok so I triangulated the location of the billboard with all the places Katie could see and got three hits…one was a city dump, two was a strip club called the Cat House…and the last is the abandoned Bellmont Sanatarium. It coincidentally is also a IYS holding."

"They trapped my baby in a nut house?"

"Looks that way."

"So it is a padded cell." Sophie stated from her seat on the arm of the couch.

"Yes and no. The walls probably are but the floor is pressurized. Katie tested it earlier…I'm trying to override their security system but it's heavily encrypted…like homeland security type encryption. It'll take me days to hack…but they left me a flaw in their plan. When Katie runs out of air, it's set to shut down I can take over then but she's still out of air…"

Eliot growled in frustration.

"Wait…Wait…" Parker touched his arm "Maybe not. She went to the bathroom right, Hardison?"

"Yeah…" he said slowly not following her train of thought.

"So her air would be replenished on the way out and back in…that gives me ninety seconds…one breath maybe two…I can do it. I can get to her. I can do it it'll be tight but I promise you I can do it, Eliot."

"But how do we get you in?" Sophie asked.

"Sterling's the brains of all this…the foundation so if we distract him well enough, the house of cards will fall…" Nate mused.

"What if we can con him with a bigger prize?" Sophie put in.

"What's bigger than getting all of us in one fell swoop?" Eliot asked no one in particular.

"We put his job in peril steal a major IYS holding...I think a Vermeer would do nicely. Not many of those left in existence, after all," Nate said.

"Let's go work the smoke screen. I called in Tara Cole to help us," Sophie said.

"I need the blueprints to find my way in, Hardison," Parker murmured.

"On it."

"I'll go do recon…count gaurds," Eliot said turning to leave.

"Hold on there, sparky. Not without me, you kill them before it's really necessary."

"Don't call me sparky, Parker, it's creepier when you're my…whatever you are."

"Girlfriend," she supplied easily.

"Now's not the time discuss social labels."

"Well the look says girlfriend sorry…"

"Got your floor plans pretty lady…place is big. No way the whole thing is secure probably only where they have Katie should be pressure-sensitive. Most they have is motion and temperature sensors through out…we get you in easy enough. You can do the tin foil thing like in the two davids safe... With the Man of Many Punches handling the bodies you can get to Katie right here…"

"And if I can't open the door?"

"Blow it off," Eliot stated.

"How do I know which door?"

"Well it didn't take her very long to go the bathroom, so I think she's on the end."

"And besides Parker, smart money says it's the only one that's locked down," Eliot pointed out.

"Ok then again how do I open it?"

"I have a friend who makes all-natural explosives and makes them into ordinary objects," said Eliot

"Like What? Oooh look there's the parking garage entrance…I'll go that way. No wait, it's guarded and it's to big…" Parker rambled.

"Gum, post-it notes, mouthwash. Why does it even matter?"

"Maybe I should date exploding gum guy. Maybe he's not such a grouch."

"I'd rather you not." Eliot muttured quietly

-/-

"I can't see how many of them there are," Eliot said lowering his binoculars.

"Well what does that mean?" Parker inquired.

"It means I'm going in blind. Just stay behind me."

Hardison's voice came over the comms. "I sent Tara's credentials. All she has to do is to move the painting another location."

"I'm on the move…" Tara replied. She put on her white gloves and nodded to the guard. "I'm Anna Scott, the new curator. I need to take this to be cleaned. She flashed her creds and took the painting off the wall gently

"Got it, Soph, call it in," she whispered as she walked down the hallway.

Sophie called the museum. "Hi, this is Sophie Deveraux and I just stole one of the top three most valuable painting in the museum. Might want to call your insurance agent."

A few minutes later. "I have visual on a very pissed off Sterling. Leaving the building…I'm going to get you one day asshole." Eliot muttered the last half of the sentence.

And Nate's phone rang. "Sterling. Give us our girl and you keep your job. Otherwise the Vermeer meets my shredder."

"I want proof you have it."

"Meet me at the café on Fifth." Nate hung up.

"You've got the green light. Go," Nate told him and Eliot put the car in gear.

"Reach into my pants pocket," Eliot commanded Parker.

"Now, really isn't the time for dirty, Eliot."

"Just get the gum, woman," He growled out. "And remember, it's not gum. Don't chew the bomb ok. You just twist it so the colors mix and smack it to the door, got it?"

"Yes."

"And Hardison, remember to tell Katie to move away from the door."

"I know man."

"Tell me again why we can't just drive up to the third floor?" asked Parker. "Because its not a drive through it's a hospital and third floor is locked wards-no entrance from the garage. I'm gonna start at the bottom and distract all the guards away from you and Katie Beth. Hang on." Eliot didn't bother with subtle. He drove the wooden stop gates and into the parking garage, pulled into a handicapped place and strode right up to the two men standing on one side of the entrance to the first floor. "Zdravstvujtye," said Eliot. "Sadis', v nogakh pravdy nyet." "What?" said one in a thick accent, his cigarette halfway to his lips. "Spokojnoj Nochi," said Eliot and slammed their heads back against the concrete wall twice before they could go for their guns. They slid to the ground, and he grabbed their weapons and slung them underneath the car. "Parker," he said, as the thief appeared by his side. "You ready?" She nodded. He opened the door, took a quick look around, pulled back. "One more guy on the left. Give me ten seconds." He didn't give her time to reply, but walked in like he owned the place and turned right, passing the reception desk. "Hey you! Hey!" Eliot heard footsteps behind him and picked up the pace. He was halfway down the hall before he heard, "Stop or I shoot!" He stopped and put his hands to the back of his head, hearing the man approach, breathing heavily. A rifle barrel prodded him in the back. "Turn around." Eliot spun to one side of the rifle barrel, grabbing and then twisting it out of the guard's hands. He jammed the butt into the man's stomach, then clubbed him over the head. Guns were limited, but they had their uses. "Parker. Go." "Eliot," she said. He looked up to see her at the reception desk. "Yeah." Her expression was completely serious. " Don't die." And she was gone down the side hall. She counted the steps for something to do with her mind: seventy eights stairs from the first to the third floor. Eliot heard a spatter of static from the radio on the guard's belt. He took it and went back toward the elevator. He pressed the call button and when the doors slid open, reached around, and hit the buttons for the second and third floors. The doors closed as he jogged to the stairwell. He turned on the radio. "Intruders," he growled in Russian. "Intruders on the elevator." Eliot ran up to the second floor on silent feet, eased the door open just enough to let him through, and approached the four men pointing their guns at the elevator doors. There was an old metal gurney leaning against the wall about ten feet from them, and Eliot snagged it, the faint squeak of the wheels masked by the groaning elevator doors. As the doors opened, the guards crowded forward to look inside, guns ready. Eliot sped up, turned the gurney sideways and shoved all four men into the elevator, where they landed in a heap. Slapping the wheeled table out of the way, he pressed the button to close the doors, throwing himself to one side as someone fired a round. A streak of fire seared Eliot's upper arm and another shot pinged off the inside of the car. Someone bellowed a curse as the elevator rose.

He pressed his back against the wall and used the radio again. "Intruders are armed!" He coughed thickly, as if he'd been hit somewhere vital. "They go to third floor. Men dead on second!" He held the call button down so no one else could transmit, and listened for the sounds of the elevator opening on the third floor.

Gunfire broke out, and screams.

"That's for my baby," said Eliot, baring his teeth in a feral smile he was glad she couldn't see.

He shrugged off his jacket and looked at his arm. The bullet had torn a furrow across his bicep, but the muscle was intact. Another scar for his collection, but nothing that would stop him. Not even close.

"Okay, won't be using the elevators then." Parker muttered through his earbud. "Holy crap, that's a lot of sensors…"

"Trip them , Parker," he said. "I don't care. I'll clear your way-just get to her."

He put his jacket back on. The radio hissed. "Eliot Spencer," said a gravelly voice. "Come up. We finish this now, da?"

"Da." Eliot put his jacket back on and headed for the stairs.

Parker took a running start and flipped her way through some of the sensors, tripping two in her haste.

"Shit!" she cursed. Her need to get to Katie was making her sloppy. Mikal was guarding the door to Katie's cell "I can fight you!" Parker told her.

"You will lose."

"You'd really kill a little girl just because you got dumped."

"Killing the girl was never part of my plan. Sterling said I get immunity for my crimes if I help so I help. I like the little girl and spencer," she pressed her thumb into the print pad the door opened. "Take her and go. Use the fire escape."

The third floor corridor was empty, except for a gurney that had been knocked on its side, scattering an assortment of old hospital supplies. The bloodstained floor at the far end showed evidence that the second floor guards had given as well as they'd got-and that someone had dragged the bodies into the elevator before closing the doors.

Eliot moved down the hall. Katie Beth was here, somewhere, but he had to trust Parker-he did trust Parker-to get his baby out. His job, his only job, was to-

He heard a noise and spun around.

The Butcher came in low and fast, tackling Eliot before he could brace himself, sending them both crashing down onto the gurney. As Eliot struggled for breath, pinned between collapsed metal and two-hundred forty pounds of psychopath, a large hand closed around his throat.

Eliot yanked at the thick wrist with his free hand, then smashed a fist into the grinning face. The Butcher jerked back, but kept squeezing, blood trickling from a cut on his cheekbone. Eliot tried again, but his blow was too weak to make the Russian do more than blink.

"I kill you now," said the gravelly voice through the blackout spots that were darkening Eliot's vision. "And then I tell little girl you not good enough to save her, eh?"

There was a spitting sound like a gunshot and a splat of something thicker than saliva landed by Eliot's head. "Or maybe I say you run away like scared dog. Which hurts more, you think-having dead man for father, or coward?"

_Don't die._ It was Parker's voice. Not in his ear, in his head. Maybe in his heart, too.

Hell of a time to figure that one out.

_Don't die._

Eliot gritted his teeth and flailed around for something, anything, when his hand touched cool, smooth metal. He curled his clumsy fingers around the edge of whatever it was and brought it down on the Russian's head with a hollow sound.

The Butcher reared back, and Eliot brought the thing down again. The grip on his throat loosened, and Eliot took a searing lungful of air and whacked the Russian across the face. The big man fell away and Eliot rolled to his feet, staggering back a step or two. He swiped his hair out of his eyes and looked at the thing in his hand. A bed pan.

He let out a rusty chuckle and tossed it aside. Maybe it was a good thing Hardison couldn't get visuals.

"Parker!" Katie ran out latching on to her. She picked her up and ran. "I've got her. Eliot. Finish it and let's go."

A few feet away, the Butcher of Kiev rose to his knees.

Sophie had once said that Eliot didn't fight to win, but to survive, accusing a crooked promoter of taking the safety off the gun. She'd been on the con, but that didn't mean she was lying.

Survival had been an ingrained habit before his Katie Beth had entered the world. Now, it was a necessity. Katie Beth needed him. And Parker had told him to. Eliot took a deep breath and let his control slip away.

"Hardison I'm taking the third floor, left-hand fire escape. Have the van there." Parker thought this was too lucky and ran down the fire escape for all she was worth. Getting to the last part, she saw the catch: the last section of the fire escape was broken.

"Where's Daddy?"

"Tell her I'm coming parker…" he said with a grunt.

"He's coming... now how to get us both down safely?" Parker mused mostly to herself.

"Can I have your gum?" asked Katie Beth.

"That's not gum it's a bomb don't touch it!"

"No fear ladies, Hardison is here." he appeared below them. "Toss Baby Ninja down. I'll catch her."

Parker did as instructed and Hardison caught her easy and set her on her feet, then prepared to catch Parker who landed softly beside him just Eliot was rounding into the alley. Katie went to run to him.

"No, baby don't run. You don't have shoes on," Eliot told her. He sprinted to her and scooped her up. The relief and gratitude he felt nearly buckled his knees. She was ok. He hugged her tightly and breathed in Parker's coconut shampoo.

"Hi, Daddy."

"Hello, Katherine."

"Am I in trouble?"

"Well no baby why?"

"You called me Katherine, that usually means I was bad."

Eliot wanted to cry. "That's the very first thing I said to you when we met, here lean back a second let me look at you. You ok? Hurt anywhere?" He moved her hair from her face.

"No I'm fine but you're bleeding, Daddy. And you're crying. You don't cry. Ever."

"Sometimes I do. I'm really happy to see you Katie Beth."

"Wrap it up Nate we have her," Hardison said into the com.

-/-

"Return the painting, Tara." Nate told her before directing his attention to Sterling.

"Stay far away from Eliot if you want to live…I can guarantee he won't show my restraint." Nate said getting up from the café table. "Sophie ready?"

She stood and slapped Sterling for all she was worth.

"Don't use our baby as the pawn again or I'll kill you myself," she said.

Nate smirked. "Hell hath no fury…" he murmured and they turned and walked away.

-/-

"Daddy, you're bleeding a lot." Katie clarified. She sat in his lap, his good arm around her as he he held the other arm away from her so as not to get blood on her.

"Just a scratch, I'm fine," he smiled at her. Parker bailed into the backseat from the front. Jerking his arm over into her lap to inspect it. He gritted his teeth to keep from yelling at her. "A little more gently, please."

"That's more than a scratch." Parker replied in perfect Spanish. She didn't want to alarm Katie any more than necessary.

"Daddy, I knew you'd find me. You always keep your promises."

"And I always will, Katie Beth."

-/-

Katie wouldn't leave Eliot's side. "It's ok to go take a bath, Katie. Miss Sophie will be with you the whole time. Nate is going to clean me up. You don't wanna watch, trust me."

"We'll make it quick, darlin' Sophie cajoled. Katie grudgingly followed when

Eliot gave her a reassuring wink. "I'm okay, baby, honest."

Once Katie was out of ear shot, Eliot was too distracted by pain to lie.

"You kill him?" Nate asked.

"Does it matter?" Eliot replied tiredly.

"It doesn't matter to any of us."

Eliot shrugged. "I did my very best work, Nate." was his cryptic reply.

-/-

Parker and Hardison went to buy the makings for homemade pizza.

"I was going to tell you about…I just didn't know how," Parker said grabbing some mozzarella.

"Are you happy?"

"I didn't mean for it…it just happened."

"Woman, I said... Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"Alright then as long as you're happy."

"You are letting me off the hook."

"No Parker, I'm being your friend."

"Ok then." they rolled on down the aisle.

-/-

They were all afraid to leave her. Nate sat in Eliot's grandmother's rocker. Parker perched on the arm of the couch like a little blonde bird across from Hardison sprawled on the other end. Sophie was curled on the love seat as Katie Beth slept with her head in the grifter's lap. Eliot leaned on the wall feet and arms crossed as he peered pensively out the window.

"I'm going to take her home," he murmured.

"She is home," Parker said.

He shook his head. "To Kentucky, Parker."

"Why? We just got her back and we're family."

"I'm rather attached myself," Hardison said, starting to sound hysterical.

"It's not safe. Not really." Nate said.

"I want her to be ok. Not be scared whenever she turns around." Eliot said.

"You want her to be normal… not screwed up like me. What happened to her is the kinda thing that make people crazy." Parker added.

"There's nothing wrong with you Parker, not when it matters," Eliot answered.

She rolled her eyes. She took Katie from Sophie.

"Parker?" Nate asked.

"I'm putting her to bed since I won't be doing it anymore."

"Parker…" Eliot almost pled with her.

"I know, put her in your bed."

Eliot groaned when she walked away with his daughter in her arms.

"I'm not trying to take her from you guys, you're family. I need to do what's right for her. You all are welcome on my farm to come and go as you please. I think a break is the right thing for us."

Everyone spent the night in his living room normally he would be having major personal space issues but he made an exception.

-/-

Parker was laying on the right side of the bed. Katie Beth curled into the fetal position in the middle. Eliot got in on his side. He moved Katie's hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. He kissed her forehead, peering down at her face lax in sleep. "Night baby."

He heard Parker sigh. "Talk to me." He prodded gently.

"You're taking her away from me."

"No I'm not. I want you to come with us." She was silent.

"If you don't want too, if its too much... you know, too much of a commitment then that's fine. I'll make sure Katie Beth knows it's not about her. That I messed it up."

"Do you want me there for yourself or for her?"

Well shit she was going to make him say it. "For me. I want you there for her and for me…Parker you know I…right? That I…"

"Me too." she replied quietly.

"Okay then goodnight Parker."

"Goodnight Eliot."

-/-

Eliot can see Katie Beth likes Kentucky and likes riding. As soon as she gets off the school bus, he knows she'll head straight to the barn to saddle Wicket, her bay thoroughbred filly with white stocking feet.

He's shoveling straw into a stall when he hears her bus. Sophie's on the porch reading a book. He was surprised because she comes and stays for longer stretches than even Parker. He thinks Sophie could have been perfectly happy to get married and make Nate's babies, if only they'd met in another lifetime.

Parker comes and goes, taking the odd job here and there. Hardison says he can hack from home and had basically set up camp in the guest room and stayed. Eliot's pretty sure he's teaching Katie to hack into the White House main frame but it didn't really bear thinking about. Nate rarely comes to visit but Eliot know seeing Katie still is painful for him.

He turns to swing himself into his black stallion Big Ben's saddle and Parker flips down from the barn rafters.

"Hi!" She greets, landing next to him.

"Christ woman I told you to stop that shit."

"I finished the job."

"I can see that Parker." He smiles and leans into her kissing her softly

"Going to ride down to the bus stop to get her."

"If I wasn't scared of Big Evil, I'd go with you."

"His name's Ben darlin'."

"Yeah whatever I'll go handle snacks…" he swings himself up into the saddle.

"Remember fortune cookies do not count as snack food." and he rides off. He pulls the horse to a stop on the red dirt road as the bus door squeaks open. A few kids pour out. And Katie bounds down the final step and catched sight of him. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hi Monkey." he gets off his horse and picks her up, kissing her cheek before sitting her in the saddle. He swings up behind her.

"How was school learn anything new?" he nudges Ben into a gentle walk.

"Not much really. Brett Pillman likes to call me Kate I'm not sure I like it."

"Kate makes you sound awfully grown up for a woman a mere six years old." she giggles at him.

"Guess what Katie Beth?"

"What?"

"Parker's back and Nate's coming tomorrow so the whole crew is going to be here." She squeals.

"Nate has a job he needs Daddy to do. What do you think about going to Boston for a bit."

"Well Uncle Nate is family and we always help family."

He kisses the top of her head.

"That we do baby," he says as they ride up the road to Spencer Farms.

**AN: so this is it ladies and gents! I need to thank Volce Volce for writing Eliot's fight scene I just didn't have it in me to write the bit, and I believe if there's someone out there who does something better than you why not employ them to do it! So, thank you VV! Be sure and read her stuff! Thanks also to Jaz or pldjmpr6 as she's otherwise known for listening and helping. Thanks to Sirius Doctor Who Honey for the ideas. Thanks to my ever faithful beta fleur for always making everything I write better! Lastly, thanks to you the reader for always review with lovely things to say and alerting me! This was a lot of fun hope you liked it! Please check out The Life &Times Of Katie Beth Spencer my KB 'verse prompt fics! Thanks again~Meghan**


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